


Delivering Hearts and Sandwiches

by anarchycox



Series: The Executive and the Sandwich Man [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Banter, Crushes, Everyone hates Uther, Fade to black sex, Fake Dating, M/M, Merlin is a Little Shit (Merlin), Snark, arthur is awkward at flirting, gwaine is charming, merlin ships it (Merlin), minor secrets revealed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:54:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28186461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anarchycox/pseuds/anarchycox
Summary: Arthur perhaps has a minor crush on Gwaine the man who delivers lunch sandwiches. Who wouldn't though? And then his annoying assistant had to go and suggest that Gwaine would be the perfect fake date to take to dinner with Uther.Because pretending to be in love with the man he had a huge crush on would go just great.(and it does).
Relationships: Gwaine/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: The Executive and the Sandwich Man [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2076213
Comments: 18
Kudos: 74





	Delivering Hearts and Sandwiches

“Arthur?” 

It was 11:25, and he was looking out his window down. It was 25 stories down so the people were mostly indistinguishable, but still it was 11:25 so the van should pull up in the next five minutes.

“Arthur?”

“11:27, cutting it a bit close,” Arthur muttered.

“Arthur!”

“Merlin!” Arthur shouted back. The van pulled up and he relaxed a bit. “In a minute.” He stared intently down at the blur that stepped out of the delivery van. He smiled. “Right, then what do you need?” He spun his chair around and Merlin was giving him the face. “What every you are thinking, stop thinking it.” The face only increased. “Stop.”

“Gwaine making the delivery today?”

“Who? What?” Arthur smiled, “so you are here because of reports?” His personal assistant always wanted to tell him that someone wanted him to read a report. 

“No, mostly I wanted to watch you lick the glass in your window because you saw Gwaine down there and that means he will be here delivering your lunch order in…nine minutes.”

“I was not licking the glass.”

“You could lick him,” Merlin suggested. “He seems like he’d be down for licking.”

“Merlin! Do you kiss Lancelot with that mouth?”

“Yes, quite a bit actually. In really interesting locations.” 

“You are fired, Merlin. Clear out your desk, and gives your keys to security.” Arthur gave the coldest look he could, one he had learned from his father. One that made people cry.

Merlin just snorted and sat down. “Yeah, sure, see how long you stay alive without me.”

“I got on just fine before you.” Sort of. His life had gotten exponentially easier when Gwen hired Merlin to be his personal assistant. He missed Gwen but she had been swept off her feet by Morgana and they were on some sort of weird year long personal growth adventure. Morgana said it was take a sabbatical or kill Uther, and Arthur wasn’t sure she had been joking. Gwen’s instagram showed a lot of cocktails and beaches and he had seen Morgana’s ass, and he was never going to recover from that. “So, once again, you are fired.”

“Uh-huh,” Merlin said and started playing Tetris on his tablet. “Your father will be in town this weekend. We are starting to run a bit thin of the sort of standard excuses. He keeps sending your vitamins, and things that his latest idiot influencer gold digger are peddling online. He is worried about your health. I vote we say your kidneys were sold on the black market.”

“Helpful,” Arthur tapped his pen on the table. “There has to be a way out of it. That doesn’t involve black market organs.”

“You have theatre tickets that are nonrefundable.”

“I do?” That surprised Arthur.

“No, you hate people on stage. But it is a decent lie.”

“Until he asks me what the play was like.” Arthur couldn’t stop himself and started tapping out the rhythm of a Clash song. A stress habit from uni when he thought of dropping out and being in a band. “Merlin you don’t know how lucky you are that your father is dead.”

“Yup, it is a highlight of my life, that my father died protecting me from a pickpocket.” Merlin didn’t look up from his game.

Fuck. “I didn’t know,” Arthur said softly. “I am sorry, Merlin.” He loved annoying the man, because Merlin loved annoying him, but he didn’t want to hurt him. “Was he a good man?”

“Nah, or maybe. Didn’t really know him.” Merlin looked up. “He left. He returned. He died.” He went back to his game. “Better than Uther though. Didn’t have to know him to be fucking sure of that.”

Arthur nodded in agreement. It had taken him far too long to realize just how awful his father was. But he knew now, and avoided the man as much as possible. Which was easier since he had retired to the country to be a man of leisure and handed the company over to Arthur. But he liked to pop into town to meddle. “Did he say, did he suggest that at the dinner he would -” Arthur winced not wanting to say the words.

“Introduce you to an appropriate woman so that you could marry, consolidate fortunes, and have babies that you hate and never see? Her name is Mithian this time.” Merlin tilted his head. “You got another sandwich?”

“How can you tell?”

“I have a terrifying sense of smell.” A moment later there was a knock on the door and there was Gwaine. Arthur straightened in his chair, tried to figure out what to do with his hands. He folded them on the desk and Merlin gave a small shake of his head. But he couldn’t figure out what else to do so he stayed like that. “Hello, Gwaine.”

“Merls, I owe you ten quid.”

“You do.”

“You do?”

“Never bet against Merlin when it comes to cricket matches.”

“He doesn’t follow cricket at all.”

Merlin smiled, “No, but I know how to hustle men who like to bet on sports. And you still owe me twenty for that Gooner’s game.”

“It will be in your next pay cheque,” Arthur lied. “How are you today, Gwaine?” He was wearing the vest with the neck with the tear in it, showed a bit extra skin. He stared at that bit of skin. 

“Good,” Gwaine smiled and held out a couple packages, “Sandwich, extra aioli for you, curry appetizer sampler for you Merlin. Kitchen is trying a new dipping sauce, let me know what you think.”

“Sure, want to double or nothing your money?” Merlin grinned as he took the container.

“No thanks,” Gwaine laughed. “Here,” he pulled a paper from his back pocket and put it on the table. “They are actually switching the menu up next month. Nicked it so you can look it over in advance.”

Arthur opened the sandwich and took a bite, it was brilliant as always. Merlin had found the company, they didn’t have a restaurant focused on making lunch or party fixings for corporations. Merlin had suggested they be tried out, and the food was fantastic, and cheaper than running out to grab something. “Mahdfadsfjajsdf.”

“Glad you enjoy. Any weekend plans, Merlin? Want to hit the pub?”

Arthur glared at Merlin. He didn’t know the man was actually friends with Gwaine. “No,” Merlin said and then paused, “wait. Gwaine, you are devious and a son of a bitch.”

“Merlin!”

“Well he is,” Merlin complained.

“I am,” Gwaine agreed. Arthur just glared and ate some more of his sandwich. 

Merlin popped a pakora into his mouth, “Bloody hell the new sauce is brilliant.” He chewed a bit and gave Gwaine a thumbs up. “His father wants to take him to dinner this weekend. Will bring along a woman that Arthur should breed with. We have burned through the standard excuses. What should we do?”

“Go,” Gwaine said after thinking for a moment.

“What? The point is not to go,” Arthur protested. He put the sandwich down. “How does that help me?”

“He wants to set you up, right?” Arthur nodded in agreement. “So you bring a date, be madly in love. Then he has to leave you alone. Because the girl he brings along will spread word that Arthur is off the market. Your father will be stuck and when he calls you can spin out how much you are in love and blah blah blah. Break up in like eighteen months, mourn for six months. Two years with no interference.”

“That is,” Arthur paused, “That is actually brilliant.”

“Saw it in a telemovie when I was stuck in an airport once,” Gwaine grinned. “See you next week!” he gave a small salute, and headed out.

“Gwaine! You do it,” Merlin blurted out.

Arthur threw a napkin at his assistant’s head and mouthed the man was fired, which was ignored of course.

“I’m sorry?”

“Look, Arthur doesn’t especially have the time to go find someone. I would do it but Uther has caught me blowing my boyfriend in a bathroom, so that is out.”

Arthur couldn’t finish his excellent sandwich. “He did?”

“Yes, and he tried to actually fire me.”

“You aren’t allowed to go anywhere,” Arthur snapped.

“I’m not,” Merlin promised. “I almost have you trained. Not starting over with another rich idiot. But the point is, Gwaine is single, not ugly, and game for a lot. He could be your date to get Uther off your back.”

“I cannot ask our sandwich deliveryman to be my fake date in front of my father. He’ll get eaten alive. No offense, Gwaine. My father is just a nightmare.”

“I deliver sandwiches to a lot of corporate bastards, trust me, he can’t be any worse than this Agravaine bastard across the way.”

“That’s my uncle,” Arthur admitted.

“He is a bastard,” Merlin added. “Honestly, Arthur has really shit family. Impressive he is only a prat and not a wanker.”

“Shut up, Merlin.” Arthur looked at Gwaine, at the beat up clothes, the smirk, the long hair. Honestly he had the air of a bit of a disaster, which if Arthur brought that to dinner, it would really annoy Uther. It was actually perfect. “But there would be free food, and we have corporate tickets to West Ham, get you tickets as a personal thank you for helping me out? If you are free Saturday night.”

Gwaine shrugged, “Sure why not? Merlin can give you my number, I need to get the next deliveries over.”

“Thank you, Gwaine,” Arthur smiled, “I appreciate it.”

Gwaine just gave another of those salutes and disappeared. Arthur calmly and carefully packed up the sandwich remains, and put it in the small fridge next to his desk. “Merlin?”

“Yes?”

“I have a question for you.”

“You usually have about seven.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you hung out with Gwaine? I would have -” Arthur wasn’t actually sure what he would have done. Tagged along, lightly stalked the gorgeous delivery man, ordered more sandwiches, he wasn’t sure. Why couldn’t he be good with people he fancied? 

“Stripped naked, and bent over a table?”

“No, god no, I am not ready for a man that stunning to see me naked.”

“You aren’t a morlock or anything. My understanding is some people find you reasonably attractive.”

“My legs look weird when I am naked,” Arthur muttered. He waited for Merlin to offer him some sympathy and support.

“Oh they do,” Merlin nodded, “I wouldn’t have said anything but you are a little torso heavy for the thighs you have.”

“Once again, fired.”

“Once again, nu-uh. Gwaine will be perfect. He’ll show up in one of his slutty vests, drink just one glass too much, flirt with this Mithial -”

“You said it was Mithian,” Arthur reminded him.

“I say lots of things,” Merlin leaned forward, “Uther will fucking hate Gwaine, plus you get longer than the three minutes twice a week you see him to drool over him.”

“I don’t drool.” Merlin snorted. “Staring dreamily and picturing him in my bed and giving him a life of leisure as my kept man is not drooling.”

“Would you make him wear tiny pants, like an American pool boy? I have seen porn like that.”

“So have I. Now do we have actual work to do?”

“Nah, you can stand to lose the few million if we skip the reports.”

Arthur gave him a look, and they actually got down to business.

*

Arthur checked his phone again. It still said the same thing _Delivery late. Swr on way._ Gwaine was about fifteen minutes late, which fuck, he hoped the man wasn’t going to cancel completely. If Gwaine bailed, it would kill Arthur’s crush for sure. Because if a man made a commitment, he kept it. Even if it was a fake date for a man who was almost a stranger. Well, shit, it would actually be fairly reasonable of the man to not show. But then his phone beeped, _arnd crnr running_. He couldn’t help but smile.

“Will we finally be having your attention now?” Uther sounded pissed. 

Arthur looked up at his father, the lastest plastic surgery nightmare on his arm, and Mithian. She wasn’t ugly, but they never were. “Sorry, my boyfriend was running late. Was starting to be a bit worried, but he said he was around the corner.” It felt all too easy to say boyfriend, but with how much he dreamed about Gwaine, it wasn’t so surprising. 

“Boyfriend?” Uther said in distaste, Mithian in confusion.

“Yes, sorry about this. I don’t know what my father exactly told you, but I’ve been seeing Gwaine for a few months now.” It was true, he saw the man twice a week for lunch delivery for the last four months.

“Gwaine?” Uther was clearly trying to think if he knew anyone who had a child of that name. “Do I know his parents?”

“You’d have to ask him,” Arthur replied. He looked to the door and saw that Gwaine was running, actually running and sort of bounced off of the door before opening it. He snickered a bit, “And you could ask him right now.” Arthur stood and waved a bit to Gwaine, who gave that silly little salute back. His hair was mussed from running, but the beard had been trimmed a bit and the man was wearing eyeliner.

Oh fuck, that was perfect. He looked down, hoped it would be the tight vest with the hole in it. But it was a crisp white button down, one or two extra buttons undone than decorum suggested but with a black blazer and pair of denim with zero holes. He was bloody gorgeous. Arthur swallowed. “Hello,” he said and it barely could be heard. He cleared his throat. “Gwaine,” he managed to say. “Shirt.” He could feel that wherever Merlin was, he just sensed that Arthur was being an idiot and laughing.

“I know, your favourite,” Gwaine agreed and dropped a kiss on his lips. “I’d always wear your favourite on such an auspicious occasion.” Gwaine wrapped an arm around his waist, and Arthur would not swoon.

Sandwich man was touching him though. It was like dream number twelve. For a moment he couldn’t stop staring at Gwaine, getting to be this close to the man was incredible. He smelled like cologne, which usually he smelled like bread from his deliveries. Both worked on the man. “You have a long nose.”

“I do, why does this always surprise you, love?”

“It just looks so different front and profile,” Arthur said. He wanted desperately to reach out and trace a finger down the length. “I really like your nose.” He liked everything about Gwaine. Pretending to be in love was going to be easy. And he was a horrible actor. He remembered the lecture about how bad a mushroom he had been in the third form panto. Uther had been disappointed in his lack of gravitas. Arthur decided fuck it and traced a finger down the long length. Gwaine smiled, and he was sunk.

“Arthur, decorum please. That assistant of yours has been a bad influence on you. You really must let him go,” Uther said.

“No,” Arthur glared at his father. “Merlin is a godsend. Gwen picked him out, and he has been a life saver.”

Gwaine gave him a look having heard many of Arthur and Merlin’s fights. But that was just how they were. They needed that together. And when they focused on work, they got incredible things done. Work was making an incredible amount of money, and he couldn’t have done it without Merlin. Also, he was Arthur’s friend, one of the few he had with Gwen and Morgana gone.

“Merlin is a good sort.”

“He is a -”

“Careful, Father,” Arthur warned. “Proper introductions. This is Gwaine -” he didn’t actually know the man’s last name.

“Greene,” Gwaine filled in smoothly. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Pendragon.” He held out his hand and Arthur almost growled at the way that his father ignored it. Arthur introduced the women and they sat down. “We haven’t ordered beyond cocktails yet.” He gave his menu to Gwaine already having picked what he wanted. The second Gwaine opened it though he raised a brow. 

Shit, the menu was in french. 

Arthur leaned in, “Chicken is poulet, and -”

“I can muddle through enough for a menu,” Gwaine replied. 

“Not at all, I didn’t realize Arthur would date someone uneducated, they do have menus in english, I can summon one for you.”

“Father,” Arthur was appalled. He was ready to lay into the man, but a hand was on his thigh. He looked down confused, but it was Gwaine’s.

“Arthur has been giving me all sorts of…lessons,” Gwaine replied. “Improving my education.”

“I bet,” Uther’s date said. “I can help your french a little bit Voulez-vous -” she was interrupted by the waiter coming over to see what Gwaine wanted to drink.

“Harp, if you have it?” he asked.

“We do,” she replied. “Are there any questions with the menu?” 

“No,” Arthur said when he saw his father ready to be an ass. “Do you have any personal recommendations?” She listed a few things in both french and english and Arthur was relieved, because that would help Gwaine out. They all put their order in and then an awkward silence fell over the table.

Mithian was gracious though, and smiled at Gwaine. “I didn’t know Arthur was seeing anyone.”

“We were low key while we made sure that we were as suited as we hoped we would be. Merlin knew of course, that I was completely mad about Arthur from the first time I saw him. Kept telling me I should ask Arthur out. But what would the great Arthur Pendragon want with me? Luckily Arthur asked me out to dinner one night and the rest is well,” Gwaine smiled and gestured, a movement of his hands that suggested pure bliss.

It was an incredible fantasy that a man as charming and everything that Gwaine seemed would care about Arthur who worked 11 hours a day on a quiet day. Gwaine linked their hands together. His hands had nicks and scars all over them. Probably from trays and hauling everything he did in a day. For a moment he lost himself in thoughts of how they would feel on his thighs, pressing his legs open. 

He was so lost in the thoughts of those hands that he was surprised when the appetizers arrived. He realized that he had completely zoned out. And everyone was watching him. “Sorry, big deal at work, I was running different scenarios in my head.” It was an excuse that everyone bought, which was a relief. He tuned back in and was a bit shocked at how well Gwaine and Mithian were conversing. Not that she was charmed, because of course she would be Gwaine was charming. But they were talking about this charity that Mithian was involved in, about making sure that no child went hungry at school. She was passionate about it, and honestly if he wasn’t so busy crushing on Gwaine, he’d be impressed that his father brought someone along that Arthur didn’t hate. 

“You seem to know a lot about this charity,” Mithian was beaming. “Are you on their board, and I just didn’t realize?”

“No the company that I am a part of is in the food industry. They donate all their about to expire food to the program.”

“Really?” Arthur didn’t know that. “Isn’t that dangerous if it is for children?”

“So food has an expiry date by law, and that is important, but it is sell day,” Gwaine explained. “Most foods, especially if cooked, have a shelf life two or three days passed what health codes say can be served to clientele. So the food the head chef for the company deems safe is donated.”

“That is wonderful. We are working to get more restaurants involved,” Mithian said. “Which company do you work for?”

“The Green Grocer. It is a catering company, focuses on providing lunches for businesses.”

“Oh! They catered a function I went to a month or so ago. The food was incredible.”

“I am glad.” Gwaine smiled at her, “word of mouth has been the secret to our success.”

Arthur honestly figured a huge part of the success was that the deliverymen were hot as fuck. He tucked into his shrimp and they were decent. Gwaine tried his soup and made a bit of a face. “Problem?” 

“No, just an interesting spice choice.” He ate some more. “Curious who the head chef is here.”

“What exactly do you do for this Green Grocer?” Uther asked. 

“Little bit of everything, whatever they need me to do really. Tuesdays and Thursdays I do the delivery runs to the businesses.”

“You are a coffee girl?”

“Bit sexist there, Uther,” Gwaine replied. “And only on Tuesdays and Thursdays?”

“Getting your nails done the other days?” Uther’s date asked, and Uther chuckled like it was an intelligent or clever joke.

“Something like that,” Gwaine agreed. “I actually know Agravaine? You two are really quite similar.”

Arthur choked on his shrimp a bit at that. Because he knew Gwaine was calling his father an asshole. The meal continued on, and Uther kept trying to insult Gwaine, and it was water off a duck’s back. Gwaine just kept touching Arthur, and talking with Mithian.

Who was great. “Mithian?” Arthur had to ask. “You want a job?”

“I’m sorry?”

“My personal assistant is angry at me, for the lack of our charitable contributions. Something about the evils of capitalism and blood money and colonialism? Death to the monarchy has been said. Not sure why. But I looked into it, and we are ranked horribly for our charitable work. I want to improve that. But I have no clue how. And if I put Merlin in charge of that, well frankly, I feel it would go -” Arthur was at a loss for how to describe it.

“He’d dismantle the company and give everything away to random people on the street,” Gwaine offered.

“He would,” Arthur agreed. “I want us to be better, more ethical in terms of our place in the world. Care to help me spearhead that?”

“I could be very interested, yes,” Mithian agreed. “I set up my father’s company well, it is running itself and I have been a bit bored.”

“Well, now, this is a wonderful development.” Uther was beaming. “Will mean a lot of late nights and weekends organizing it. Let you two grow…closer. But I am sure Gwaine would understand. It is for charity. You certainly wouldn’t mind a growing friendship between Arthur and Mithian?”

Arthur almost stood up, but Gwaine’s hand on his leg stopped him. “You know, I wanted to believe the rumours about you around Pendragon Enterprises were wrong, but apparently they were underselling you. You are a sad, vicious man, who should be proud of raising a man better than you in every way and yet you resent and loathe it. How can you even imply that Arthur would be unfaithful, that working overtime with a woman would cause him to betray his heart?” Gwaine shook his head. “How dare you try to cheapen a good man like that?”

Arthur didn’t think, just turned Gwaine’s head and kissed him. A gentle thing, a gesture of appreciation and thanks for the support. Just when he thought it might turn into something else they heard a throat clear. “Good evening, are you enjoying your meal?”

Arthur rolled his eyes a bit, of course his father suggested that the chef should come to their table. “It was delicious, thank you.” He hadn’t especially tasted a bite, but he was sure this place was good, his father would accept nothing less.

“Indeed this is probably the most sophisticated meal my son’s boyfriend has had,” Uther sneered a bit. “Though he was complaining about a spice in the soup.”

The chef laughed, and Arthur was ready to tell him the meal was rubbish. “Of course he did, Gwaine has hated my soup since culinary school.”

“Knew it was you, the second bit of soup,” Gwaine shook his head and stood up. “You never could resist that extra pinch of coriander could you?”

“It is good you pillock, that soup is consistently rated five stars.”

“Yes well, most reviews have shite taste buds.”

“Come here, you bastard,” the chef hugged Gwaine and kissed his jaw. “Been too long. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

“I honestly didn’t put the pieces together until the soup. Was focused on meeting boyfriend’s father.”

“No, Gwaine the Great, meeting a future in law? The entire class would faint.”

“My boyfriend does not need to know certain things from my past.”

“Yes, blackmail to get that sauce recipe from you,” the chef grinned. “Elena will be furious if you don’t stop by soon.”

“I promise.” 

“Good.” The chef kissed Gwaine again. “Meal is on me, mate. Owe you, wouldn’t have all this if it wasn’t for you.” The two spoke in perfect french for a few moments and the chef went on his way and Gwaine sat down, smiling.

Arthur was lost, “What was that about?”

“Oh lord,” Mithian shouted. “Gwaine Greene, The Green Grocer.”

Gwaine laughed, “You wouldn’t believe how many people miss that.”

“I missed it, I am still missing it.” Arthur was relieved it looked like his father was too. “What am I missing?”

“The Green Grocer is my company. Own it, head chef, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I do the delivery runs.”

Arthur couldn’t understand. “Why?”

“Because when Pendragon Enterprises signed the contract with us, first delivery was supposed to be my co-owner Percival, but he was sick. So I did it, and I saw a great pair of thighs under a desk. Was intrigued. Even more when he pushed up and I saw the mouth, the hair. And learning that it was the president of the company, killing a bug for a secretary who was nervous? I was even more intrigued. So, I decided to do the deliveries.”

“My thighs are disproportionate to my torso. Merlin said. Agreed I look a bit weird naked.”

“Arthur!” Uther was scandalized.

“Well,” Gwaine leaned in, “we could always go back to mine, and I could give you a second opinion about that?” his teeth grazed Arthur’s ear. “If you would like a second opinion?”

“Yes. Second opinions are very important in things.” Arthur stood up. “Father, god I hope I don’t have to see your for at least six months. And at that meeting, Gwaine will be my boyfriend.”

“I will?” Gwaine’s hand wrapped around his.

“Yes,” Arthur said firmly. “Mithian, call my assistant, he will be mildly insane, but he will give you access to what you need to spend our money. I’ve given him full access to all our information.”

“To that madman? He’ll ruin the company,” Uther was turning red.

“Careful father, if you have a heart attack I’ll assume Morgana’s voodoo doll worked,” Arthur gave the table a polite nod. “Have a good evening.” He hurried away, pulled Gwaine along until they were outside. And then nerves hit him. “Were you just playing, like the plan?” Maybe he was reading it wrong.

“No,” Gwaine promised. “I have wanted you for months. Why I have been doing those stupid deliveries, just to stare at you. Started to hang out with Merlin to get the inside track on you. Worked out well, because I adore that weirdo and his boyfriend, and learned all sorts of interesting things about you. Including that maybe you liked me but would never make the first move?”

“I’m miserable at flirting,” Arthur said. “And well, you sort of work for me and that would be wrong. Creepy isn’t it, seducing the delivery boy?” Out of the corner of his eye he could see his father coming towards them. He hurried down the block. “I’m a few tube stations away.”

“I’m not,” Gwaine said. “I’m actually just a few minutes walk.”

“Show me?” They went down a few streets and he found himself climbing spindly stairs above a vintage shop. It was a decent space, open concept, and he could see a huge bed. “Nice,” he said. 

“Arthur?”

“Did you really mean it that you see me being your boyfriend in six months?” Gwaine’s hair flopped over his face, and Arthur pushed it back.

“I did.”

“Show me your thighs, Arthur,” Gwaine pulled him towards that huge bed, and a few hours later Arthur texted Merlin that Gwaine said that Arthur was rather perfectly formed.

He was sent back a photo of a sleeping Lancelot with a note saying that that was a perfect form. Arthur couldn’t disagree. He lay on top of Gwaine. “This mean you’ll stop delivering your food personally?”

Gwaine smiled and his hand ran down Arthur’s back. “And miss the chance to let you ogle my ass? Never.”

“I didn’t ogle! I just -” Arthur huffed a bit. “Should have known you fancied me, was never charged extra for all the aioli on my sandwiches.”

“You should have,” Gwaine agreed. “Stay, I’ll cook you breakfast.”

“Is it as good as your sandwiches?”

“Better,” Gwaine promised.

“I’ll stay.” Arthur burrowed down into the bed. He felt Gwaine’s magnificent arms wrap around him. “I hate eggs though.”

“Well, we are doomed to fail. All over now.”

“Really?” Arthur tensed.

“No, I’ll make you American pancakes.” There was a kiss to his shoulder. “Not letting go, Arthur.”

“Good, yeah, that is good.” Arthur let out a breath. “Holding on, it is good. So are pancakes.” There was a chuckle against his skin and Arthur decided to stop talking. He woke to the smell of pancakes and Gwaine cooking naked under his apron. 

He smiled. Pancakes were fantastic. And so it seemed was having a boyfriend who made them.


End file.
